FIV Positive Cats Can Live with Other Cats

When I rescued my FIV cat named Sam the veterinarian told me that he was contagiousness. That I had to keep my cat away from all other cats because they would get sick from any close contact, saliva, grooming or play bites. That was ten years ago and today my FIV positive cat shares our home with four other cats that are negative to the disease.

Initially, I did keep Sam separated from my other cats. He lived in my office and the other cats had the rest of the house. The cats would look at each other through a glass doorway and that is the extent of contact that they had with one another for eight years. 

Then one day my friend surrendered to me a kitten that tested positive for FIV and I introduced this kitten to Sam. Sam‘s entire disposition changed as we observed him playing with the kitten, grooming and even sleeping with the kitten. Then when the kitten was about 9 months old she developed a cold and I took her to the veterinarian. 

I told the veterinarian that she was surrendered to me due to FIV diagnoses when she was a 9-week old kitten and they asked if she was ever rechecked. I said no and they informed me that it could have been a false positive. The FIV test was done and Lucy tested negative.

Since Sam got along with Lucy I was not about to remove her from her room. Even the veterinarian said that I should not separate the two of them. As long as there were no deep puncture bite wounds there would be no worries of her ever getting feline immunodeficiency virus.

Sam and Lucy were roommates until the day I decided to socialize him with one of my other cats.

I bought the Feliway plug-in diffusers because this product mimics a cat's natural facial pheromones and creates a calming environment. You have to allow your cats to get used to the Feliway. It takes about a week, then you can introduce any cat to them and they will love each other. I added the plug-ins to every room of my house so the cats would stay calm. By using the Feliway diffusers I was able to introduce Sam and Lucy to my other four cats without a ruckus, snarl or a hiss.

That was four years ago, and they all live under the same roof with FIV Lucy and Sam.

*Note I still use the Feliway plug-in diffuser because it helps to keep my cats calm. In the past, they would get stressed out if I moved the furniture or used the vacuum. They still do not like the vacuum but instead of taking out on one another they now all run under the bed and huddle together. Most of the time they get so comfy under there that they fall asleep.

About False Positive FIV Kitten

Many times when a kitten is tested for feline immunodeficiency virus the test results will show a false positive. This is why it is important that pet owners wait 60 days before getting their kitten retested. 

All cats that test positive should be retested because of the false positive.


Know that a year ago I took in an FIV feline immunodeficiency virus kitten because the woman who owned it did not want the cat, she did not want to learn more about the feline disease she told me to take the kitten or she would take it to the humane society. I knew that our area shelter would euthanize the kitten so I said I would take it and find it a forever home.


Finding homes for FIV kittens is difficult because, like the cat owner, people think FIV is a death sentence or an indication that the cat is sickly. Not one person wanted to learn more they just said no to me and would not adopt the kitten.


I ended up socializing the kitten with my adult FIV cat named Sam. This was not hard at all, Sam was one happy cat and the two became best of friends.


Know that the kitten had been to the veterinarian a few times, had gotten her spay and her rabies shot and all was well. But the following year when I was told that she need her annual shots I asked if it was necessary since she was FIV positive.  My veterinarian had no record of her being tested, so I told them of her history. I did not have the paperwork but the former owner was adamant about the cat's disease. I agreed to have her tested for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus. 

Both tests came back negative.


The kitten when she was tested showed a positive but it was false. I have no reason not to believe the former owner, as she was upset about the diagnosis of the cat and called me immediately when she had gotten the test results. Learn more about kittens with FIV and false positives here.

About False Positive FIV Tests

Quote: “Because few, if any, cats ever eliminate infection, the presence of antibody indicates that a cat is infected with FIV. This test can be performed by most veterinary diagnostic laboratories and also is available in kit form for use in veterinary clinics. Since false-positive results may occur, veterinarians recommend that positive results be confirmed using a test with a different format.  

Infected mother cats transfer FIV antibodies to nursing kittens, so kittens born to infected mothers may receive positive test results for several months after birth. However, few of these kittens actually are or will become infected. To clarify their infection status, kittens younger than six months of age receiving positive results should be retested at 60-day intervals until they are at least six months old.” End Quote Veterinarian Medicine Cornell education, health information on FIV   

Update on FIV Rescued Kittens

Last May we rescued a litter of kittens that could hardly walk and one of the kitten's eyes was barely open. We found the kittens in a sack on the side of the road.  At first, we thought it was trash, and then saw movement, followed by a tiny kitten's head. 

 My husband and I rushed them home to hydrate and nourish them. We kept them safe, and warm and fed them for the next four critical weeks. During this time husband and I did not sleep.

Four of the Five kittens drinking KMR replacement milk

All of the kittens survived however they were very small.  When they were three months old the boys grew overnight but two little girl kittens were still small and seemed to have less energy; they slept more than the other kittens.

The small kittens needed some help getting food out of the bowl so we made up their own bowl and fed them away from the boys. Even with feeding them separately, they did not put on weight. My husband and I thought that perhaps we got a mixed litter (different queen cats).

8-week old kitten is smaller than the littermates

All of the kittens were tested for feline leukemia and AIDS. The small kittens came back positive for feline immunodeficiency virus FIV which means their mom was infected and passed it on to them. It also confirms that we found two litters of kittens. 

“ On rare occasions, infection is transmitted from an infected mother cat to her kittens, usually during passage through the birth canal or when the newborn kittens ingest infected milk.” http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_resources/brochure_fiv.cfm

We did separate the FIV kittens from the boys because the boys were typical boys and were playing roughly with the girls. They did not allow them to sleep, pushed them out of the food bowl, and wanted to play hard. 

The boy kittens were gigantic at three months and the girls were very small.  The boy kittens were adopted but the girl kittens were passed by, everyone was fearful of an FIV kitten and said it would be too hard to love them, when their life may be shortened due to illness. 

We kept the girls and they have put on some weight and are growing slowly. Here is a photo of Sally our calico FIV kitten she is 8 months old in this photo. you can see that she is small and kitten like for her age, she looks like 12 weeks old. 

 

FIV kitten at age 8 months is small but healthy

Update: The FIV kittens are doing great, putting on weight and both have a shiny coat. They play with each other and with the family dog. Are normal as they can be. They are still small and sleep more than normal cats but that is okay with us.

Read the First post on this topic here